Today in Tech we spoke about the positives and negatives of distributed learning and how we personally feel about online university. I thought this was quite a valuable conversation because it is something we are all going through right now. I do feel like there are positives, as it is a more relaxed way of learning that allows for more flexibility and leeway in our learning. However, I am not a huge fan of distributed learning because of how mentally draining it has become. I find it extremely difficult to be on my computer 24/7 as it takes a lot of energy and makes you feel quite drained at the end of the day. I also find that distributed learning is quite busy, I often feel overwhelmed because there is so much stuff going on all the time and it is hard to keep track of all your assignments, lectures, and tests.

I think that during these times it is incredible that we were able to continue our studies and that we have the technology to do so, but I do feel that the quality of classes in person is something that you can’t replicate online.

We also spoke about ways of presenting distributed learning other than zoom. We spoke about bright spaces, Moodle, Blackboard, Teams ect. as other options to share learning and classes online. I found this interesting as a teacher because I did not realize that there are so many different ways and websites that offer an online learning experience. It is important although a year ago we would have never though this is something we need to learn, we as teachers need to be informed about distributed learning as we may or may not have to implement it into our teaching one day if a similar situation was to arise. I think it is also important to learn because regardless of a pandemic or not, I think parts of education will still continue to be online. Because of all this technology we have started to use and uncover we will be able to use it when students are at home sick, or unable to attend to class and need to hear the information that was lectured.

Overall it is honestly incredible how far technology has come and how we were able to continue our studies online. I have enjoyed my time online although at some points it was proven to be difficult, I would have much rather participated in distributed learning than taken a year off.

I am beyond excited to return to in person classes while still continuing to explore the online learning experience and how I will be able to implement aspects of it into my own teaching.